Mammoth Relief

[Guest guest]

" HSI - Jenny Thompson " <HSIResearch

HSI e-Alert - Mammoth Relief

Thu, 19 May 2005 07:30:00 -0400

HSI e-Alert - Mammoth Relief

 

Health Sciences Institute e-Alert

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May 19, 2005

 

Dear Reader,

 

Describing a cartoon is not as much fun as actually showing one, but

I'm going to give it a go...

 

Over a caption that reads " Early Acupuncture, " dozens of cavemen are

throwing sharp spears at the rear of a giant wooly mammoth. The

mammoth is munching on plants, oblivious to the spears that are stuck

to his posterior, but he's thinking to himself, " That's odd...my neck

suddenly feels better. "

 

Credit for this comic goes to cartoonist Mark Parisi who offers no

clinical evidence that acupuncture might have been effective on wooly

mammoths. But we do have some new research that indicates the

effectiveness of acupuncture in relieving back pain in humans.

 

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Meta-thinking

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Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine conducted

a meta-analysis of 33 randomized, controlled trials that compared the

effectiveness of acupuncture with sham acupuncture (placing needles at

spots that generate no response), or no additional treatments, or

other active therapies that treat lower back pain.

 

Data from the trials was grouped into categories such as acute pain

relief, chronic pain relief and style of acupuncture. Each category

was then analyzed to assess diverse outcomes of pain, including

functional abilities, overall improvement, return to work and

painkiller use.

 

Noting that the quality and quantities of the trials varied,

researchers found acupuncture to be " significantly more effective than

sham treatment or no additional treatment. " Furthermore, acupuncture

was found to be just as effective as other active therapies (read:

" pain killers " ) in relieving chronic lower back pain.

 

In cases where lower back pain was acute the data was inconclusive.

 

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All in the head

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The University of Maryland researchers focused their trial on lower

back pain studies, so the data didn't include a remarkable acupuncture

study from Harvard Medical School that I told you about in the e-Alert

" Stuck on You " (4/7/04). In that study researchers investigated the

body's response to acupuncture with functional magnetic resonance

imaging (fMRI), which reveals changes in blood flow, as well as

fluctuations in blood oxygen.

 

Manipulation of needles was performed on a specific acupuncture point

on the hand in 13 healthy subjects. When fMRI was used before, during

and after acupuncture treatments, clear changes in the imaging

occurred in several different areas of the brain in 11 of the

subjects. These imaging changes indicated a decrease of blood flow,

described by the researchers as a " quieting down " of the regions of

the brain associated with pain, mood and cravings.

 

One of the researchers - Harvard Medical School radiologist Bruce

Rosen - told the Associated Press (AP) that the regions of the brain

affected in the test are particularly susceptible to a brain chemical

called dopamine, which he describes as a reward chemical. Mr. Rosen

speculates that when the blood flow is reduced, the resulting dopamine

activity triggers the release of endorphins (chemicals that relieve pain).

 

As one neurobiologist pointed out to the AP, the next step should be a

controlled study in which patients undergoing fMRI analysis would

receive genuine acupuncture while another group of patients would

receive stimulation of sham acupuncture points. Until then, this study

provides an important step in understanding how the brain responds to

acupuncture.

 

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If you try, certify

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A couple of years ago I was experiencing enough discomfort from

chronic back and neck pain that I screwed up my courage, overcame my

aversion to needles, and underwent acupuncture therapy.

 

To my great relief - literally - I felt at most a very mild sensation

from the acupuncture needles, and sometimes felt nothing at all. But

my pain pretty much disappeared. When it was over, I wondered why I

had waited so long to try it. After all, acupuncture is an ancient

healing method. Treatments that don't work don't last for millennia.

 

So I can enthusiastically vouch for the relief that acupuncture can

bring to neck and back pain. And I have a friend who successfully

overcame insomnia through acupuncture. We've both found that it

relieves stress as well.

 

If you'd like to try acupuncture for yourself, it's very important to

locate an experienced and board-certified acupuncture practitioner.

You can find a listing of certified acupuncturists on the web site for

the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental

Medicine (nccaom.org). Using your Zip Code, you can easily search for

practitioners in your area who have national board certification.

Fortunately, many health insurance plans in the U.S. are starting to

cover acupuncture treatments, so check your policy before you choose

your practitioner.

 

I'd be very interested to hear from any HSI members who have tried

acupuncture - no matter what your experience may have been, good or bad.

 

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....and another thing

 

Looking for a versatile vitamin? I nominate vitamin B-6.

 

In the e-Alert " B + " (5/17/05) that I sent you earlier this week I

told you how levels of vitamin B-6 that exceed the recommended daily

allowance (RDA) of 2 mg for men and 1.6 mg for women may help prevent

colorectal cancer. In that same e-Alert I also hinted at some of the

other ways that B-6 can be effective.

 

As HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D., has already noted, he uses B-6 as

a diuretic in his practice. He says the vitamin works especially well

with women, and MOST especially if there's fluid retention associated

with the monthly cycle.

 

But B-6 doesn't stop there. Here's Dr. Spreen with some additional uses:

 

" For carpal tunnel syndrome (which is involved with interstitial fluid

taking up too much space within the carpal tunnel of the wrist,

resulting in pressure on the nerve and causing numbness, tingling, and

pain), 90 days of B-6 treatment is often required for the symptoms to

completely subside. Retained fluid in general, however, can start

leaving the first night (and can be disconcerting to a person who's

now urinating more than they know they've been drinking...the

interstitial fluid is leaving).

 

" B-6 is also used for morning sickness (along with magnesium) and I've

seen it work in about two-thirds of cases. There are other causes, but

it can really help.

 

" B-6 has recently been linked to heart disease prevention, as it helps

lower serum homocysteine (along with B-12, folic acid, and

trimethylglycine). Adding magnesium here most definitely helps, as

magnesium makes B-6 work better, and works beneficially on the heart

in its own right (see 'Keep Your Ticker Ticking', my favorite work to

date). Bearing in mind that serum homocysteine is far more important

than serum cholesterol as a heart disease risk factor, B-6 is big. "

 

Dr. Spreen's " Keep Your Ticker Ticking " is one of the most popular

reports published by HSI. You can use this link to find out more

details about the report:

http://www.agora-inc.com/reports/610SHEAR/W600E706

 

And as if all of these health benefits weren't enough, it should be

noted that a deficiency of vitamin B-6 has also been associated with

glucose intolerance; a precursor of type 2 diabetes.

 

To Your Good Health,

 

Jenny Thompson

Health Sciences Institute

 

 

 

 

Sources:

 

" Early Acupuncture " cartoon, Mark Parisi, Off the Mark, offthemark.com

" Meta-Analysis: Acupuncture for Low Back Pain " Annals of Internal

Medicine, Vol. 142, No. 8, 4/19/05, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

" Acupuncture Modulates the Limbic System and Subcortical Gray

Structures of the Human Brain: Evidence from fMRI Studies in Normal

Subjects " Human Brain Mapping, Vol. 9, No. 1, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

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